Germany Declares Berlin Christmas Market Truck Crash a Terrorist Attack

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has declared Monday’s Berlin Christmas market truck crash a target of a terrorist attack.

According to the New York Times, German interior minister Thomas de Maiziere said that a 23-year-old Pakistani man who had applied for asylum was arrested on suspicion of being involved in the crash.

“We must assume at the current time that it was a terrorist attack,” Merkel said on Tuesday. “I know that it would be particularly difficult for all of us to bear if it is confirmed that this deed was carried out by a person who sought protection and asylum in Germany.”

Also Read: Berlin Market Truck Crash Kills 9, 2 Suspects Neutralized

Maiziere added that “we no longer have any doubt that this terrible event yesterday evening was an attack.”

According to local reports, authorities are not sure they have the right man. Germany’s chief prosecutor Peter Frank told reporters, “We must get used to the idea that he was possibly not the perpetrator or that he didn’t belong to the group of perpetrators.” Police chief Klaus Kandt added that the description of the suspect is not precise enough yet, and therefore, the subject may still be at large.

Moreover, the arrested suspect is denying his involvement in the attack.

Also Read: France Truck Attack: What We Know So Far

The 23-year-old was arrested 1.5 miles away from the Berlin Christmas market, where a truck plowed through a sidewalk and killed 12 and injured 48.

A police officer told Berliner Morgenpost that at least two people were in the truck when it hit the market. After the truck came to a stop, both allegedly jumped out and fled. However, the Berlin Police tweeted that one suspect was found dead in the truck.

On Monday, a spokesman for the police department told Berliner Zeitung that they arrested a suspect believed to have driven the truck at the Victory Column in the Tiergarten district. They had no update on motive or background of the suspect. The department tweeted that it was not yet clear whether the suspect was connected to the attack.

Major Terrorist Attacks in 2016 (Photos)

Terrorist attacks in Brussels, Orlando, and Nice have made the biggest headlines around the globe, but there have been more than 100 more terrorist attacks this year. These are some of the deadliest ones that have happened so far. Be advised: This gallery contains violent imagery.
January 3 -- ISIS suicide bombers attack Camp Speicher, a former U.S. base now used by the Iraqi Air Force, killing 15.
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January 7 -- A car bomb at a Libyan police camp in the town of Zilten kills 60 people and wounds 200 more.
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January 11 -- Bombs in three cities in Iraq, including Baghdad, kill over 130 people.
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January 16 -- ISIS forces attack the Syrian town of Deir ez-Zor, killing Syrian army members as well as women and children. Death toll estimates range between 130 and 300 people.
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February 1 -- A suicide bomber detonates a vest outside Afghanistan's national police headquarters in Kabul, killing 20 and injuring 29.
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February 8 -- ISIS executes approximately 300 activists, police, and military personnel in Mosul, Iraq.
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February 21 -- ISIS detonates car bombs in two Syrian towns heavily populated with Shi'ite Muslims, killing between 140 and 270 people, and wounding over 300 more.
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February 17; March 13 -- 67 people are killed in two car bombings in Ankara, Turkey that occur within a month of each other.
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March 22 -- Three suicide bombers armed with nail bombs performed coordinated attacks in Brussels, Belgium. Thirty-two people are killed, with the nail bombs wounding 340 more.
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March 27 -- Seventy-two people, including 29 children, are killed in a suicide bombing at the largest public park in Lahore, Pakistan.
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June 12 -- A gunman opens fire on a nightclub popular with the LGBT community in Orlando, killing 49 and wounding 53 before being shot down by law enforcement officials. The attack is the deadliest in the United States since 9/11.
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June 28 -- A trio of suicide bombings at an airport in Istanbul kill 45 and injure 200 more. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.
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July 3 -- Several bombings in Baghdad kill over 300 and wound 225. The attacks are the deadliest in Iraq since 2007.
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July 7 -- A sniper kills five police officers who are escorting a protest against police brutality in Dallas. The shooting came in the same week that two African-American men, Alton Sterling and Philando Castile were killed during encounters with police officers.
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July 14: At least 77 people are killed in Nice, France, after a truck drives through a crowd on Bastille Day.
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Major attacks in 2016 have taken place in Brussels, Nice, Syria, and Orlando

Terrorist attacks in Brussels, Orlando, and Nice have made the biggest headlines around the globe, but there have been more than 100 more terrorist attacks this year. These are some of the deadliest ones that have happened so far. Be advised: This gallery contains violent imagery.

View In Gallery

Major Terrorist Attacks in 2016 (Photos)

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